Fact Checker: We get what we pay for, illegal dumping and all

Nov. 13, 2010

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The claim

Waste Management has policies for trash pickup that aren't as generous as those for Republic Services in Las Vegas, and this makes people more likely to illegally dump in the desert.

The background

A Reno resident named Lonnie contacted us after a notice was posted online about a free dump day at Reno-area transfer stations run by Waste Management. She said that every day should be a free dump day like it is in Las Vegas, where the trash service is run by Republic Services.

She said she stumbled across the differences when conducting home improvement projects on her elderly mother's Las Vegas home.

She discovered that if you merely present a current bill, Republic Services lets you dump for free at its landfill and transfer stations.

A customer service representative for Republic told us there's no limit on the number of times you can go to the dump.

Not only that, the company offers free curbside pickup of water heaters, air conditioners, carpet, doors, furniture and other bulky items. The requirement for curbside service is that the item not weigh more than 50 pounds and not be more than 6 feet in length, the customer service representative said.

This was intriguing. Once while helping a friend move out of a Sparks rental, I drove him to the Commercial Row transfer station because he didn't have a truck. He was shocked at the fee Waste Management charged, assuming it would be free to unload his broken washer and dryer.

"If I'd known it cost that much, I would've dumped it in the desert," he said.

Waste Management got the exclusive contract to handle trash for Washoe County, Sparks and Reno in 1991 after buying Reno Disposal, said Jason Geddes of the city of Reno.

He said Waste Management renewed its contract for another 10 years in 2009.

The monthly cost in Reno for using a Waste Management trash container, having recyclable materials picked up and putting out six extra 33-gallon bags or cans worth of trash is $14.72.

The monthly cost for similar services in Las Vegas is $17.14.

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That's a difference of $2.42 a month, or $29.04 less a year in Reno -- but without curbside pickup of bulky items and free dumping.

When asked if such disparities in service contribute to people dumping on public lands, Mark Struble of the Bureau of Land Management in Nevada said, "I have felt for years that anything we can do to make it cheaper and easier for people to legally dispose of any and all refuse will mean less illegally dumped junk.

"People are like water and will follow the easiest path. Why would anyone haul junk into the desert if the stuff could be picked up free at their curb?"

Justin Caporusso, communications manager for Waste Management, said it's not fair to compare trash services in Reno and Las Vegas, in large part because businesses subsidize more of the residential fees there than they do here.

He said, "The rates in Reno, Sparks and Washoe are very competitive."

One good comparison is with Boise, another Western city with about the same population. Its trash company is called Allied Waste and charges $16.80 a month for the equivalent services mentioned above.

This means it's $2.08 more a month, or $24.96 more a year, in Boise -- but you get free curbside pickup of bulky items. The catch is that you've got to call ahead so they can accommodate what you've got on the truck. And Boise does not allow free dumping for residential customers. Its landfill and transfer stations charge about the same as here.

Waste Management does offer some bonuses. One bulky item such as a mattress, sofa or so-called white metals (washers and dryers) can be dumped for free at the Lockwood Landfill, about 10 miles east of town. Each April, it offers a week of free dumping at the landfill.

It also offers four weekends a year where people can dump bulky items at area transfer stations. On these weekends, the dumps accept other waste -- such as the juniper branches and brush I haul to the dump a few times a year -- at a 50 percent discount off its normal rate of about $19 for a jam-packed pickup bed.

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The verdict

Waste Management charges less, and if you take advantage of its special promotions a few days a year for free dumping, then you can still get rid of what you need free of charge.

Even if you go to the dump once a year on your own schedule and pay the standard fee, you'll pay less overall than in Las Vegas or Boise.

But what if you're someone who's moving, perhaps involuntarily, and needs to get rid of a stove, mattress and other stuff in the next week, the choice is paying $15 to $20 at the dump or taking a free drive on a dirt road. This person isn't going to think of the $25 they've saved each year on trash fees.

Struble smacked the nail on the head: You've got to make it easy for people to throw out the stuff they might be tempted to dump illegally or else they are going to trash our beautiful state.

I don't get the impression Waste Management is trying to squeeze out more profits at the expense of Northern Nevada's landscape. In fact, Caporusso said Waste Management would consider free residential curbside pickup of bulky items if that's what people want. (It offers this service elsewhere.)

The bottom line in regard to the claim that trash service here is less generous and thus encourages illegal dumping is that the service is not less generous -- it's less expensive, so fewer features are offered.

That said, not having free curbside service for bulky items does increase the likelihood of illegal dumping. But the claim's implication is that this is Waste Management's fault, and instead it seems to be that we don't have this service because we as a community prefer lower prices.

Truth Meter: 4. The claims on their surface are technically true, but there's more to the story that makes them slightly untrue.

Mark Robison is the Reno Gazette-Journal's data editor. Check out his blog at RGJ.com/NevaData.